$500K from armored truck heist in 2014 found buried in Fontana

LOS ANGELES, CA (CNS) - More than $500,000 in cash missing from a 2014 Los Angeles armored truck heist was found buried in a Fontana back yard today, authorities said.

Investigators with the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department developed information that led them to the 9300 block of Marcona Avenue, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

Cesar Yanez, 38, of Fontana, a former armored truck driver for Loomis, pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy and bank larceny charges for orchestrating the theft of more than $1 million in cash in the heist on June 27, 2014.

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II said at Yanez's sentencing that since only $115,000 of the stolen $1 million had been recovered, he was "likely aware of the whereabouts" of the remaining cash.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Yanez was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $970,000 in restitution.

Fellow Loomis driver Aldo Vega, 28, of Pomona pleaded guilty to his part in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Rhoades, Yanez and Vega were transporting a multimillion-dollar shipment of cash for Bank of America when they stopped in a parking lot on West Adams Boulevard.

Vega electronically opened the rear doors of the armored car, which allowed Yanez to access the cash storage area of the vehicle, Rhoades said.

Yanez then took about $1 million in cash from the armored car and placed it into a trash can that had allegedly been left in the parking by his wife, Leticia, who allegedly picked up the container afterward and recovered the stolen money.

Later, family friend Jovita Guzman, 40, of San Bernardino allegedly delivered some of the stolen money to Vega, Rhoades said.

During search warrants executed at the Yanez home and elsewhere, agents found about $115,000 in cash, the prosecutor said.

Leticia Yanez and Guzman are scheduled to stand trial in March. According to Rhoades, the FBI received a tip, leading to an undercover operation that resulted in the arrests last November.